Witches, Ghosts and Black Cats...Oh My! IWSG, Origins,

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:   Nancy Gideon, Jennifer Lane, Jacqui Murray, and Natalie Aguirre!

This month's question is: Ghost stories fit right in during this month. What's your favorite classic ghostly tale? Tell us about it and why it sends chills up your spine.

To be honest, I'm not a fan of horror or ghost stories. I don't like being frightened or the way it disturbs my psyche. That said, here are a few that have given me the creepy-crawlies. "The Mask of the Red Death" and most anything else by Poe, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving, and Tales of Horror by H. P. Lovecraft. Humorous and not so scary favorites are "The Canterville Ghost" by Oscar Wilde and the ever and always classic "A Christmas Carol." As a child I adored a large hardbound collection of Charles Addams' Addams Family cartoons. AND, I have written my own ghost story (based loosely on personal experience) called The Bowl and the Stone.

Origins: 

Is a recurring post in which I delve into the history of a word or phrase. Today's phrase isn't a phrase, but an animal. Because it's October, I thought I'd delve into Black Cats and their history. 

First off, cats have been domesticated and worshipped since the days of the early Egyptians and just about every country has it's mythology and superstitions. You can find out more HERE.

At one time in England and among the Celts black cats were considered good luck. However among the Irish and Gaelic people it was just the opposite.

Unfortunately, with the rise of Christianity in the Middle Ages, superstitions began to arise that black cats were evil and associated with the witches and the devil. There's a whole tangled up history with single women, cats, and witchery which I won't go into, but it's true. And even today in the 21st century, sad to say, some people still have odd beliefs about single women with cats. 

In the Middle Ages cats -- not just black ones -- were thought to be the cause of the Black Death and were systematically hunted and killed. This, of course, only exacerbated the problem because the rat, which WAS the cause, lost it's main predator.

Here are the origins of a few good and bad superstitions about black cats.

• The fear of black cats first arose in Europe in the Middle Ages. As their numbers grew within the cities, they were seen as pests.
• Cats are nocturnal and roam at night; thus, their agile movements and eyes that “glowed” at night became the image of darkness, mystery, and evil.
• When a cat would find shelter with an older woman living alone, the cat became a source of comfort and companionship (as they do to us all!) If someone mistreated her cat, the woman might very well curse that person! If that person then became ill, the “witch” and her cat were blamed.
• 
  If a black cat walked into the room of an ill person, and the person later died, it was blamed on the cat’s powers.
  
• If a black cat crossed a person’s path without harming them, this indicated that the person was then protected by the devil! To reverse the “bad luck,” it was said you should walk in a circle, then go backward across the spot where you crossed paths with the cat, and count to thirteen. Whew!
• Freya, the goddess of love and fertility, rode a chariot that was pulled by two black cats. The cats were turned into swift black horses, possessed by the Devil. After serving Freya for seven years, the cats were rewarded by being turned into witches, disguised as black cats.
• In Britain, wives of fishermen believe that their husbands will return safely if a black cat is kept in the house.
• 
  A black cat in the audience on opening night foretells a successful play.
• According to local superstition in the south of France, black cats bring good luck to owners who feed them well and treat them with respect.
• English sailors believed that keeping black cats happy would ensure fair weather when they went to sea.
• To cure a stye on the eyelid, rub it with the tail of a black cat. (Or that might just result in an eyeful of cat hair and an angry cat…)
  
  

Today's Weird Word is: Brouhaha I thought this might be a good word because of all the brouhaha about black cats and single women with cats. As most know it means, "hubbub, uproar, confused and angry scene." It comes from the 15 century French word brouhaha, which in medieval theater was "the cry of the devil disguised as clergy."  There is also the possibility that it's origin is older and comes from the Hebrew barukh habba meaning "blessed be the one who comes."

Quotes of the Month

"Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see." Edgar Allan Poe

"Villainy wears many masks, none so dangerous as the mask of virtue." Ichabod Crane, "Sleepy Hollow"

"I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker color." Wednesday Addams, "The Addams Family"

"When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam, may luck be yours on Halloween." Unknown

Being Thankful

Let's be thankful for what we have. My heart aches for all those affected by Hurricane Helene. If you can give a little money follow the links below for lists of reputable charities.

USA Today

NC Flood Victims

Charity Watch

If you want to find out if a charity is reputable check out these sites.

Give.org

Charity Navigator

Guidestar

and Charity Watch, link above.

Having gone through the anxiety of the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria that devastated the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in 2017, I can't stress enough how giving a little money can go a long way towards helping people NOW. If you can donate directly to a specific community, town, city, county, that's better than donating to a general fund that covers a whole state. Eventually government funding and aide will get to where it needs to go, but in the mean time people need water, food and shelter, NOW.

***

What are you thankful for? Do you have a favorite ghost story? What's your favorite thing about Halloween? 

September Remember.

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts: Beth Camp, Jean Davis, Yvonne Ventresca, and PJ Colando!

This month's question is: Since it's back to school time, let's talk English class. What's a writing rule you learned in school that messed you up as a writer? 

My first English/writing teacher was my mother. That makes me lucky because in homeschooling me she quickly realized I learned differently than my sister. We didn't have a name or diagnosis for it back then, but it turns out I'm mildly dyslexic, and it's enough to make me a bad speller, to transpose numbers and to be a slow (but avid) reader. When it came to writing, she was the one who recognized when I was eight, despite all the spelling mistakes, that I might have a talent for writing. She was my first and ever strongest cheerleader. That said, when I did get enrolled in a "regular" school, I had some pretty awesome English teachers who also encouraged me, despite the red marks all over my papers for misspellings or misplaced commas or dangling participles or whatever. They saw I could write a good story, essay, or poem, so they overlooked a lot of my stumbling blunders.

Origins: a recurring post in which I delve into the history of a word or phrase.

I am preempting Origins this month to bring you a small tour of my visit home to the Virgin Island

The Battery in Cruz Bay, built by the Danes in 1764. 

However, a Danish census shows that settlers were living on St. John as early as 1680.

Although it is much modified, this the house I first lived in when we moved to St. John in 1955.

The picture on the right shows me and mother on the street in front of the house.

Too many years after publication, my books are finally for sale on island 

and I had a wonderful little book signings

My cousin Rafe Boulon and his wife, Kimberly.

The windmill at Susannaberg, one of many sugar plantation ruins.

Sunset from Susannaberg, looking northwest into the Atlantic.

Waterlemon Bay.

Trunk Bay. My grandparents bought it in 1928. 

They build a summer home here to escape the "hustle and bustle" of living in Puerto Rico.

After World War II my grandmother converted the six bedroom home into a guesthouse which she ran, without electricity until 1960 when the beach was transferred to the National Park.

Me, early in the morning at Trunk. 

The windmill at Annaberg. When I was a kid a family lived in the windmill. 

It had a roof and second floor.

The evidence of volcanic upthrust is everywhere.

There are some magnificent and dramatic rock structures.

Catherineberg, the most complete and beautiful of all the windmills.

The walls of most of these ruins are between four and five feet thick.

All the buildings on all the islands were constructed by enslaved Africans.

An example of the clarity of the water. 

This is looking down through about 4 feet of water.

Wild donkeys are everywhere. Sometimes they are a nuisance. 

Unfortunately tourists think it's fun to feed them people food 

which cause tumorous fatty deposits to develop. Feeding them also makes them bold. 

People think they are tame, but they aren't. They can kick and bite without warning.

Cairns at Solomon Bay. I stacked the one on the left.

My sister climbing out of Solomon. Most of the trail follows the contour of the hill, but there are a couple of steep rocky places. We did pretty darn good for a couple of old broads.

Iguana on the trail to Solomon.

Magens Bay, St. Thomas.

Sunrise from St. Thomas looking east down Sir Francis Drake Passage.

Yes, that Sir Francis Drake. He did sail through the passage. 

The island to the left is Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

St. John is to the right. A mere quarter of a mile separates the BVI from the USVI.

Fort Christian, St. Thomas. The first building constructed after the Danes took possession of the islands. The first phase of its building began in 1666 and was finished between 1671 and 1680.

This is the third iteration of the Lutheran Church to be built on this site and dates to 1793. 

It is the oldest established church in the islands, dating back to about the time the fort was built.

Hotel 1829. 

After being shuttered for many years, 

new owners are giving this beautiful hotel a facelift and hopefully will soon be reopened.

The most precious part of this building is the large Tiffany stain glassed window from 1910.

The Sewer.

Being Thankful

Today I'm ever so thankful for the month I got to spend on my island home with family and friends.

Even went through tropical storm Ernesto! 

What are you thankful for? Did you go anywhere special this summer? Did you have any good English teachers?

IWSG, The Dog Days of August are Letting the Cat Out of the Bag and that's no Malarky, Being Thankful

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:   Feather Stone, Kim Lajevardi, Diedre Knight, C. Lee McKenzie, and Sarah - The Faux Fountain Pen!

This month's question is: Do you use AI in your writing and if so how? Do you use it for your posts? Incorporate it into your stories? Use it for research? Audio?

No, to all the above, mostly because I don't know how. 😂😂😂

Origins: a recurring post in which I delve into the history of a word or phrase.

Today's phrase is: Let the cat out of the bag

The origin of THIS phrase was a complete surprise to me! I love learning new bits of trivia about our wonderful language.

It's been around since the 15th century so we're talking 1400s! It comes from sellers at the markets. They used to put piglets and other small animals into "pokes" or bags which were then easy to carry away once they were sold. However, some unscrupulous farmers would try to substitute the piglet for...you guessed it, a cat. If the buyer didn't inspect the bag before carrying it away, they were in for a big surprise, and perhaps a face-full of mad cat. You might have noted the words pig and poke. This is also where we get the phrase "buying a pig in a poke." 

Title: Letting the cat out of the bag!!

Abstract: A figurative portrayal of the rift within the Republican party resulting from the nomination of Abraham Lincoln for the presidency in 1860. Here New York senator and would-be nominee William H. Seward watches as the radical antislavery senator from Massachusetts Charles Sumner releases a snarling cat, the "Spirit of Discord," from a "Republican Bag." The cat bolts toward New York "Tribune" editor Horace Greeley and Lincoln, who wields a rail in his defense. Greeley exclaims, "What are you doing Sumner! you'll spoil all! she aint to be let out until after Lincoln is elected,--" Lincoln, also alarmed, rejoins, "Oh Sumner! this is too bad!--I thought we had her safely bagged at Chicago [i.e., the Republican national convention at Chicago], now there will be the old scratch to pay, unless I can drive her back again with my rail!" Sumner replies, "It's no use talking Gentlemen, I was'nt mentioned at Chicago, and now I'm going to do something desperate, I can't afford to have my head broken and be kept corked up four years for nothing!" The mention of his broken head refers to the widely publicized 1856 beating inflicted on Sumner by South Carolina congressman Preston S. Brooks.  Seward warns, "Gentlemen be cautious you don't know how to manage that animal as well as I did, and Im afraid that some of you will get "scratched." Henry J. Raymond, editor of the "New York Times," stands in background shouting, "Scat!--scat!--back with her, or our fat will all be in the fire."  Notes: Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1860-27.; Probably drawn by Louis Maurer.; Title from item.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Today's Weird Word is: Malarkey

"1924, American English, of unknown origin. Green's Dictionary of Slang offers an 1894 Australian use of "Captain Mullurky" [sic] as a "melodious name for military muddle, apparently perpetrated for a malicious 'lark.'" It is an authentic Irish surname. Meaning much the same thing at about the same time in U.S. slang was ackamarackus (1934)."                                               Quoted from the Online Etymology Dictionary.

No quotes this month because I'm LETTING THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG. 

NO MARLARKEY!

Some of you may know this already if you've seen any of my Facebook posts.

After 7 longs years, I'm home in the Virgin Islands. I will be gone the whole month of August.

So... 

What am I Thankful For?

Being home,

visiting with family and friends,

and taking sea baths.

What are you thankful for? 

IWSG, Butterflies Lollygagging in Your Stomach, Fourth of July Quotes and Being Thankful

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:   JS Pailly, Rebecca Douglass, Pat Garcia, Louise-Fundy Blue, and Natalie Aguirre!

 

This month's question is: What are your favorite writing processing (e.g. Word, Scrivener, yWriter, Dabble), writing apps, software, and tools? Why do you recommend them? And which one is your all time favorite that you cannot live without and use daily or at least whenever you write?

I'd be interested to find out what other people use. I've only ever known Word, which used to be delightfully simple but has grown more complicated as time has marched along. Or...I go old school, pencil and paper. But that, of course, then has to be transcribed into...Word. 

***

Happy Fourth of July!

***

Origins: a recurring post in which I delve into the history of a word or phrase.

Today's phrase is: Butterflies in your stomach

We all know what the phrase means and how it feels, right?

But where did it come from.

Florence as Puck, transforming Bottom.

Sometimes it's hard to pin down these fluttering flights of fancy that I have. What I did discover is that the American author, Florence Converse, was the first to write it into a novel in 1908, but she used it differently. "...gave him a sad feeling, as if he had a butterfly in his stomach.” Source: theidioms.com. However I couldn't find what novel it came from.

In 1943 it was a paratrooper named Bill Gardener who used it the way we do now, to indicate nervous excitement or anxiety, “I landed all right and although I’ll always have butterflies in my stomach every time I go up …” Source: theidioms.com. And, as we all know, it isn't just a pretty, descriptive phrase, it can be an actual physical sensation.

Today's Weird Word is: Lollygag

It seems to have appeared out of nowhere sometime around 1862. 

It was once spelled "lallygag" and had two meanings: to dawdle (love that word), waste time, dilly-dally, etc. and to kiss, neck, smooch and engage in that sort of love-making. 

It probably came from the the word "loll" which goes all the way back to Shakespeare and has to do with the tongue dripping, drooling, or hanging out of the mouth. Licking a lollypop comes to mind and why it may have first evolved to mean kissing.

Quotes of the Month

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4th, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.” – Erma Bombeck

"We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls. – Robert J. McCracken

"Our country is not the only thing to which we owe our allegiance. It is also owed to justice and to humanity. Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong.” – James Bryce

"America is a tune.  It must be sung together.” – Gerald Stanley Lee

"So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snow capped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Being Thankful

Today I'm thankful air conditioning.

What are you thankful for? Does this Fourth feel different to you, or is it just me? 

I lost my marbles and they went all cattywampus on me. IWSG. Origins. Weird Words. Being Thankful.

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.
 
Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:  Liza at Middle Passages, Shannon Lawrence, Melissa Maygrove, and Olga Godim!

This month's question is: In this constantly evolving industry, what kind of offering/service do you think the IWSG should consider offering to member? The only thing I can think of is, when I want to switch to the IWSG site to pick up the question and this month/s co-hosts, I get a message warning me not to go to the site as there are trojans lurking there and it is highly recommended that I not visit it! I don't know if it's true or not...I don't know if it's just the "sensitivity" of my ante-bug programs. I don't know if it's something that can be checked or if anyone else has gotten these same messages. This has happened the last three months or so and I thought I'd mention it because I think the IWSG is about the best thing to come along since sliced bread!

Origins: is a recurring post in which I delve into the history of a word or phrase.

Today's phrase is: Loose your marbles

This is a simple one. It probably originated in the United States in the late 1800s. The first written record is from 1876, but it was likely in oral use before then. As you might suspect, marbles was (still is) a game played by children (and some adults). Marbles were precious items, they were collected and coveted. When you played some games of marbles you could lose them to another player. Or, if you literally lost them and couldn't find them, it was a great loss indeed. You might get very mad or upset if you lost your marbles, which was understandable. 

Growing up in the Virgin Islands marbles was strictly a game the boys played, jacks was for girls. However that didn't stop my sister and me. We were the only girls who played marbles. Our shooters were "steelies" large steel ball bearings our father gave to us. Steelies were coveted and sought after by anyone who was a serious player. Fun times.

But wait! There's another possible origin of the idiom. In the early 1800s it was believed that people who were mentally ill had tiny glass balls in their heads (I kid you not). Which is why, when people went crazy, they were said to have "lost their marbles." 

In these tumultuous times let us not lose our marbles, but keep them securely together in our craniums.

 

Today's Weird Word is: Cattywampous

Also spelled, catawampous, cattywampus, or catiwampus, it's related to catty-cornered. Catty has nothing to do with cats but is from the obsolete cater, (cater-cornered)  "to set, cut, or move diagonally."  Cater is from the French, catre, meaning "four" which is from the Latin quattuor.  Wampous may be related to the Scottish word wampish, meaning "to wriggle, twist, or swerve about." The Proto-Indo-European root for four is kwetwer.

However, back in the 1830s Americans loved to make up funny pseudo-classical sounding words using cata. Catawampusly, first used in adverb from about 1834, didn't have a particular meaning but added intensity to an action, as in "utterly, completely, fiercely or eagerly." "She was catawampusly in love with cad." By 1864 it had graduated to noundom and was used to describe something that was askew or wrong. Nine years later it was being used to describe something on the diagonal, was bias, or crooked.

Quotes of the Month

"Out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing can ever be made." Immanuel Kant

Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The Little Prince as a
little boy.

"Of course I'll hurt you. Of course you'll hurt me. Of course we will hurt each other. But this is the very condition of existence. To become spring, means accepting the risk of winter. To become presence, means accepting the risk of absence." Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Being Thankful

Today I'm thankful that we've had some actual measurable rain. Not enough to break the drought, but enough to put some much needed water in the river.

My sister's second annual visit with her heart doctors went well. She's in good health and we had a lovely visit.

Shenanigans are Afoot with that White Elephant in the Room, IWSG, Quotes, Being Thankful

Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:   Victoria Marie Lees, Kim Lajevardi, Nancy Gideon, and Cathrina Constantine!

This month's question is: How do you deal with distractions when you are writing? Do they derail you? I used to handle distractions pretty well, would even write in pubs and other noisy places. Any more I like it quiet and can be frustrated if interrupted.

Origins: a recurring post in which I delve into the history of a word or phrase.

Today's phrase is: Elephant in the room

As we all know, the elephant in the room, is a metaphor used to describe an issue that is obvious or controversial but is being ignored and the people don't want to talk about, like say, climate change. 

A royal white elephant of Thailand.

Ivan Krylov, a Russian poet and fabulist may well have been the first to have used a close cousin of the term in a story he wrote back in 1814 called "The Inquisitive Man," in which a man goes to a museum and is very interested in all sorts of small things, but fails to see the elephant on display. Fyodor Dostoevsky says in his novel Demons, "Belinsky was just like Krylov's Inquisitive Man, who didn't notice the elephant in the museum..." But it was Mark Twain, in 1882, who gave us a story about inept detectives trying to find a white elephant -- which do exist, by the way, but are rare. Myanmar had ten in 2023.

Today's Weird Word is: Shenanigans

Originally it meant, "nonsense, deceit, humbug."  Nowadays we mostly used to mean being silly, high-spirited or full of mischief.

You'll never guess where this word was first recorded. California! Not only that, in San Francisco and Sacramento!

It seems to have come into usage around 1855 and may be derived from chanada, a shortened form of the Spanish word charranada, meaning "trick or deceit". There are other possible origins: the German, Schenigelei, jargon for "work, craft." OR the Irish sionnach, meaning "fox." Take your pick. Shenanigans are bound to happen if Weird Al has anything to say about it.

***

I'm sure everyone is wondering what happened with the eclipse last month? It was cloudy, mostly overcast, but we did get a couple of very nice glimpses of totality. Hubby and I went for the experience and weren't disappointed. I'd heard that a breeze could spring up right before totality and that it would get cooler. Both of those things happened. Hummers, cardinals, and wrens that were all singing got very quiet when it got dark (and it did get dark) and a cricket started chirping. It was eerie and surreal and I admit, quite emotional. I got all teary-eyed. 

I never thought that I'd have the change to see/experience a total eclipse let alone be in the path of both the annular and total... what can I say. Awesome!

Quotes of the Month

"What else is love but understanding and rejoicing in the fact that another person lives, acts, and experiences otherwise than we do?" Friedrich Nietzsche

"That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all lessons that history has to teach." Aldus Huxley

Being Thankful

Today I'm thankful that my sister will be here 12 days.

What are you thankful for? Are you bothered or not by distractions when you're in the midst of being creative? Participated in any shenanigans lately?